Mortgage rates: Why has long term US home loan rate hit highest level in 3 years. Check impact on home loan borrowers

Mortgage rates have been climbing since late February, when the U.S. war with Iran began, pushing up the price of oil and driving inflation higher. The run-up in rates also reflects heightened bond market volatility, which has pushed up yields on U.S. Treasurys. This week the average long-term U.S. home loan rate has been at its highest level in nearly three years.

US benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged from last week at 7.40 per cent, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.27 per cent. The latest reading ends a seven-week climb for the average rate, which is at the highest level since November 16, 2023, when it was at 7.44 per cent. 15-year fixed-rate mortgages average rate slipped to 6.71 per cent from 6.73 per cent last week. A year ago, it was at 5.52 per cent.

Why are Mortgage Rates Rising?


Rates on home loans are influenced by inflation, Federal Reserve policy and bond-market investors’ expectations for the economy, among other factors. They generally follow the trajectory of the 10-year Treasury yield, which lenders use as a guide to pricing home loans.

U.S. home sales remain stalled this year in large part because of rising mortgage rates, which can add hundreds of dollars a month in costs for borrowers, limiting homebuyers’ purchasing power and prompting many to put off buying a home.

The recent string of mortgage rate increases snapped as the 10-year Treasury yield pulled back from its highest level since 2002.

In late February, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage briefly dipped to 5.98 per cent, its lowest level going back to late 2022. The 1.42 percentage point increase in the rate since then translates roughly into an additional monthly cost of $376 for a borrower financing a $400,000 home loan at the current average rate.

Impact on Home Buyers

Depending on a borrower’s income, credit and other factors, they may qualify for a rate on a 30-year mortgage that is below or above the current average. The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when mortgage rates began to climb from pandemic-era lows. Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes were essentially flat last year, stuck at a 30-year low.

This week, the National Association of Realtors said that existing U.S. home sales rose in September from the previous month, but slowed compared to a year earlier amid rising mortgage rates and home prices. The surge in mortgage rates in recent weeks has put off many would-be homebuyers.

Mortgage applications, which include loans to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage, fell 2.7% last week from the previous week as mortgage rates rose, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.